Means facilitating charging and billing.



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H. P. WELLMAN.

MEANS FACILITATING CHARGING AND BILLING- APPLICATION FILED AUG-l5, I908.

1,159,449. Patented Nov. 9,1915.

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H. P. WELLMAN. MEANS FACILITATING CHARGING AND BILLING. APPLICATION FILED AUG.I5. 1908.

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Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

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HARVEY P. WELLMAN, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ELBIOTT-FISHER COMPANY, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYIVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MEANS FACILITATING CHARGING- AN D BILLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1%15.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY P. 'WELLMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means Facilitating Charging and Billing, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for facilitating simultaneous billing and charging and while capable of use in connection with a variety of commodities, is particularly designed to facilitate laundry billing and charging.

The object of the invention is-to devise means whereby laundry slips may be expeditiously made out, as by means of a-typewriter, and a condensed charge record simultaneously made on a charge sheet.

A further object of the invention is to facilitate simultaneous billing and charging and the securing of bill or slip totals and the grand total of a series of bills or slips.

To the accomplishment of the objects stated, the invention resides in a novel arrangement of the slips or bills and the charge sheet whereby the data on each bill may be transferred simultaneously with the production thereof to appropriate spaces on the charge sheet, the space for the total of each bill being offset so as to be arranged opposite the mechanism for securing the grand total of the bills. 7

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view of a charge sheet showing a laundry slip or bill imposed thereover, with a transfer sheet interposed between the bill and charge sheet, portions of the bill and transfer sheet being broken out to show that the record made on the bill is transferred to the charge sheet. Fig. 2 is a View of a por tion of a charge sheet upon which four account charges have been made.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the bill, which in the present instance is a laundry slip 1, is provided adjacent to the top with a series of horizontal spaces 2 suitably designated, as for instance by Acct. No, Date, Name, Address and Marked, these spaces being adapted for the entry of certain identifying data the purpose of which is sufliciently indicated by the above designations. Below this data the bill is provided with horizontal lines 3 which divide the bill into horizontal spaces designated by the various articles or commodities with which the bill is concerned. In thepresent case the bill is a laundry slip, as before stated, and the horizontal spaces are therefore designated by the names of varioias articles of'apparel.

In addition to the horizontal lines 3, the slip is divided into vertical columns by lines 4-, these columns in the present instance being designated by the words and abbreviat-ions Articles, No., Price, Amt. and Totals. The No. and Amt. columns are arranged at opposite sides of the Price column and the Totals column is arranged to the right of the Amtfcolumn. Below the body of the slip is a stub 5 divided from the body of the slip by a perforated line 6 and bearing suitable data. In making out the bill the number of articles of each kind is printed in the No. column as by a typewriter, and similarly the amounts of the various items are printed in the Amt. column.

In the practical use of the system devised by me the laundry slips are made out on what is kno-winto commerce as a fiat platen billing machine. This machine is a combined typewriter and adder and a part of the equipment thereof for some purposes is what is known as a split or multi-column register. This register is merely a casing in which are located two sets or series of number wheels and suitable carrying mechanism. These sets of wheels or; column registers are located side by side, the register being thus divided or split into two adders. By the use of a register of this character the amounts printed in the Amt. column are accumulated in the left hand adder or totalizer and thus the total amount of the bill is computed and registered as the bill is made out. The total, as given by the left hand adder, is then printed at the bottom of the Totals column and this total amount being offset to the right of the matter printed in the Amt. column, is accumulated in the right hand adder, so that when a. bill has been made out on the billing machine, the total will be registered by both adders of the split register. Before the next bill is made out, however, the left hand adder is reset to zero. The billing operation .is then repeated, the total of the bill being added by the left hand register, and when this total is copied at the bottom of the Totals column it will be added in the right hand adder or grand totalizer to the amount of the first bill. Thus as the billing operation continues each bill will be totalized by one adder and the grand totals of the several bills will be carried in and accumulated by the right hand adder or grand totalizer. In other words, the left hand adder will compute the total of each bill as the bill is made out and when the total of each bill is printed in an oifset position it will be accumulated in the grand totalizer, which will not be reset after the making out of each bill, but will accumulate the totals of the several bills simultaneously with the printing of such totals.

One of the primary objects of'the invention is to provide a condensed record of a series of bills which record will be made simultaneously with the billing. In order to accomplish this purpose I provide a charge sheet 7 with a series of horizontal lines 8 which subdivide the sheet into horizontal record sections 9, 10 and 11, it being understood, however, that the number of these sections is immaterial. They may be increased ,or diminished at will. Each of these sec tions is divided near the top thereof by lines .12 into horizontal upper and lower sub-sections 13 and 14, the upper section 13 correspending to that portion of the hills which contains the identifying data and the lower sub-section 14: corresponding to the body portion of the bill or slip. Each of the subsections 13 and lt of each record section 9,

.10 and 11 is again sub-divided by horizontal lines 15 and 16 which correspond to the lines 2 and 3 of the bills. In addition to the horizontal sub-divisions of the charge sheet, the latter is divided into vertical divisions I by lines 17, the first vertical division at the left of the sheet being utilized for designations similar to those which appear on the bill, for instance identifying designations such as Acct. No, Date, Name; Address and Marked which appear above the lines 12, and the names of the articles which appear below the lines 12, and finally the word Amount at the bottom of the record section. The vertical subdivisions of the section to the right of the one in which the designating names are printed are adapted to receive a transferred copy of the matter printed on the bill, it being understood that only one set of designations is required set or extended at its lower end into the vertical plane of the adjacent column, as indicated at 19, to provide for the offset total of the amount entered in the column. In

Fig. 2.

the items and totals may be accumulated in laterally spaced adders. V

At the upper and lower margins of the charge sheet 7 are formed stud holes 20 the spacing of'which corresponds to the spacing of the columns 18. In practice the charge sheet is secured on the fiat platen of the billing machine with retaining studs extended through certain of the holes 20. The transfer sheet and laundry slip are then placed in position, as shown'in Fig. 1, and retained in place byany suitable means, as for instance the work holding frame of' the machine. As a bundle of laundry is opened, the items are called to the operator, after the account number, date, name, address and laundry mark are filled in, and as the items are entered on the slip the amount of the bill is simultaneously added in the left hand adder and a record of the number of articles'and amounts of the various items are transferred to an individual account column 18 on the charge sheet, see. for instance the first account column in Fig. 2. The operator then shifts the carriage to print the amount of the bill in an oifset position and as this amount is printed on the slip it is transferred to the extension 19 of the column on the charge sheet. Another bill is then placed over the next lower account column, as for instance the account column 2 in Fig. 2, and another bill is made out in the same way. When the total of this second bill is printed in the offset position this amount will be simultaneously added into the right hand adder which will now register the grand total of the two bills. This operation is continued until the several left hand columns of the several charge sections have been filled in, after which the chargesheet will be shifted to the left to the next stud hole and the neXt vertical series of columns will be totalized in the same way, the total amounts printed in} these columns being added to the totals already accumulated in the right hand adder or grand totalizer. Thus the billing continues'until the charge sheet has been entirely filled, at which time the grand total of the several bills as accumulated in and exhibited by the grand totalizer, is printed at the bottom of the charge sheet, as for instance as indicated at 21 in It will thus be seen that the charge sheet contains a condensed record of each bill, including the amount thereof, and also the grand total of all bills entered on the sheet. Furthermore, the making of the record is incidental to the making out of the bills or slips, the account totals and grand total being obtained simultaneously with the making of the record without additional labor 011 the part of the operator.

It is thought that from the foregoing, my present invention will be fully comprehended, but I wish to reserve the right to effect such changes, modifications and variations thereof as may come within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a bill sheet provided with transverse rulings to form spaces therebetween, said space being provided with vertical rulings to form columns which are appropriately designated to receive data relating to items of account and a total column to the right of the other columns, and a charge sheet ruled transversely to form spaces, each of the same size as the spaces formed in the bill sheet by the transverse rulings thereof, said spaces of the charge sheet being subdivided by equi-distant, vertical rulings forming columns, each of which corresponds in size with and is adapted to underlie that space of a bill sheet which is occupied by the item columns, and other rulings forming at the bottom of each column of the charge sheet a lateral extension part way across the adjacent column of the charge sheet and underlying the lower end of the total column of the bill sheet, whereby, when the bill sheet is superposed on the charge sheet with transferring means therebetween and with the transverse rulings of the said sheets in alinement and with the item columns of the bill sheet in register with one of the columns of the charge sheet, the total printed at the bottom of the total column of the bill sheet will be transferred to the lateral extension of the underlying column of the charge sheet.

2. A charge sheet of the character clescribed having horizontal lines subdividing the sheet into sections and other lines subdividing each section into vertically disposed spaces each having at its lower end a lateral extension to the right located beyond the adjacent edge of the next space, and stud holes arranged along the top and bottom edges of the sheet and so spaced that a stud hole is provided for each vertical column at the top and bottom thereof.

3. A. record sheet suitably ruled to provide adjoining identical units, said units forming columns each adapted for the vertical recording of items and having at its lower end an offset to the right thereof to provide a space for the recording of the total f the said item column, the record sheet being perforated to engage retaining means.

4. A sheet for the recording of charges or other data with ruling defining two or more columns and an offset space at the bottom and to the right of said columns, said offset space projecting into the adjoining column.

5. A bill sheet provided with transverse rulings near its upper and lower edge to form a space therebetween, said space being provided with vertical rulings on the right of the bill to form columns which are appropriately designated to re ceive data relating to items of accounts, and a totals column adjoining thereto and to the right thereof, said columns being further subdivided by equally spaced transverse rulings, in combination with a charge sheet ruled transversely to form spaces of the same size as the first named space on the bill sheet, said spaces being subdivided by equally spaced vertical rulings forming columns of substantially greater width than the totals column on the bill sheet, which are divided by equally spaced transverse rulings into spaces of the same width as the spaces between the first named space on the bill sheet, the vertical rulings on the charge sheet extending from the first named upper transverse ruling thereon to the last transverse ruling subdividing the columns, whereby, when the bill sheet is superposed on the charge sheet, with transferring means therebetween, and with the upper and lower transverse rulings of both in alinement, and with the items columns of the bill sheet in register with one of the columns of the charge sheet, the data marked at the bottom of the totals column will be transferred to the neXt adjacent column of the charge sheet in the lowermost space thereof, to the left of a vertical divisional line therein.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY P. VVELLMAN.

lVitnesses: V

F. E. CRAMER, WM. H. BEDELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C." 

